My New Year's Resolution in 2012 was to be a better, more confident cook . I hoped to use this blog to chronicle my culinary adventures (and misadventures). Ever since, I have been hooked, and the kitchen is my happy place! I have also become a vegetarian in that time. I may cook some weird things, but they're really good! Trust the vegetarian, okay?

Recipe Index

Monday, October 5, 2015

Caesar Pasta Salad

When school first started last month, Kenzie and I had grand plans to make tons of salads to bring for lunches. No leftovers for us - just salads. Probably in mason jars. And fresh fruit and huge jugs of water maybe with a few sprigs of mint and lemon slices.

Real life now that we've been back at the grind for over a month? Well let's just say my lunch today consisted of a store-bought granola bar, a pear, and some leftover lentil dal (recipe coming!). Water, minus the mint and lemon. No mason jar to be found. And that's okay. Leftovers are delicious and I don't even like mint that much.

But that first week, with our overzealous salad makings, we stumbled upon this salad. Imagine combining caesar salad with pasta salad, and voila: you have caesar pasta salad. There's everything from croutons and tomatoes and romaine lettuce to penne and, if you choose, chicken (I left it out, of course). You make your own caesar dressing, too, complete with anchovies and everything. Or, if you're freaked out by that like me, you can leave them out and just double the Worcestershire sauce. Don't worry, the dressing is super flavorful without it. I also swapped out the mayonnaise for Greek yogurt, as I always do.

The end result is a creamy, tasty pasta salad that reminds you vaguely of caesar salad but is way more fun. I was a little worried at how the leftovers would be for our lunches, but it was still good one day later (and that was all that was left). I am not sure how long the lettuce would stay good with the dressing, but I think the pasta helps by absorbing a lot of the extra moisture. Perfect for a good lunch - and nothing makes your work day better than a great lunch waiting for you all morning, am I right?